Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Margin of Error

The question of the week seems to be, do I have room for error? I am referring to the relatively small things that happen through out the day that become time stealers. Last night I was out with my six year old. We had a fun evening together. On the way home we stop by the grocery store. I let her pick out a snack. Before we had left the parking lot of the store she had spilled the better part of a large bag of goldfish on the floorboard. Room for error? Today, while working on math with my older two, my two year old managed to dump the vacuum canister down the stairs. Room for error?

Have I placed so much pressure on myself to accomplish a certain amount, or so filled our family calender that these minor issues become a breaking point? My children are still so young. I want to leave a large margin of error. I want to be able to calmly pull the car over and help collect a spilled snack. I want to stay clear headed enough to remember that I left the vacuum at the top of the stairs, not the baby.

I would like for my children to remember their home as usually peaceful, loving, forgiving, and safe. As a place with a pace that allowed for time to correct their errors, purposeful and accidental.

3 comments:

If you ever figure out a solution for the time problem, let me know. I have the same problem. Can I really do TOG, phonics, math, science, AND have a huge baking day on the same day? So far, the answer is no. And cleaning up after the little ones is huge problem for me. Our house hasn't been truly clean since August. I expect it to be clean for about 1 week in December, then back on the stick. Housework can wait. Kindergarten can't.